The UN on Wednesday strongly condemned an attack against a UN monitoring team near the Nigeria-Cameroon border that resulted in the death of five persons, including three Nigerians.
The UN envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, in a statement, called on both Nigeria and Cameroon to take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Chambas said: “According to preliminary reports, at around 14:00 hours, yesterday (Tuesday), an unknown armed group attacked a UN Technical Monitoring Team, killing five individuals, a UN independent contractor, three Nigerians nationals and one Cameroonian national and injuring several others.
“The team was conducting a field mission in the vicinity of Hosere Jongbi, near Kontcha, Cameroon, about 700 kilometres north of the capital Yaoundé, as part of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission mandate.”
Chambas reiterated the vital role of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in accomplishing the border demarcation.
According to him, this is in compliance with a judgment of the International Court of Justice, and in contributing to stability and security in the region.
The UN envoy also offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission was established by the UN Secretary-General at the request of Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria, in 2002, to settle border disputes between the two West African neighbours.
The Mixed Commission’s mandate includes demarcation of the land boundary and delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.
It also includes the withdrawal of troops and transfer of authority in the Lake Chad area, along the land boundary and in the Bakassi Peninsula.
Addressing the situation of populations affected by the demarcation activities and development of recommendations on confidence-building measures aiming at promoting peaceful cross-border cooperation, is also one of the mandates of the commission.
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